Michael Swickard's new novel about New Mexico

From KRQE-TV.com - TAOS, N.M. (KRQE) - Police are on the hunt for a man who intentionally rammed his car into a security guard, twice. What was he so mad about? He wasn't let into a bar. Taos Police say the guy was dangerous, making threats he was going to kill everyone, attacking bouncers and the security guard, and then running the guard over. Now they're asking for the public's help finding him. Detective Barry Holfedler showed KRQE News 13 where the attack went down near the Alley Cantina by the Taos plaza. “This is a very, very popular night spot in Taos. Probably the most popular," he said. The cantina was so popular there was a line to get in late Friday night. When bouncers announced no one else would be admitted, witnesses say a man became enraged. “That he was going to his car and get a gun and kill everybody there,” said Holfedler. That’s when David Van Epps, owner of a local security company who was working security that night, stepped in. “The subject spit on the security guard and threw a potted plant at his chest,” said Holfedler. The man then got a crutch out of his car and came at bouncers and Van Epps. Van Epps pulled his gun so the man got in his car, and Van Epps started to walk away. That’s when witnesses say the man plowed into Van Epps, backed up hitting a wall and then slammed into Van Epps again. After the second hit the driver actually backed up and went for Van Epps again, but this time he swerved before he got the security officer. Witnesses say he circled the parking lot, grabbed his girlfriend and took off. The car as a 1993 silver Honda Accord with the plate number 110-RBH, witnesses told police, Cantina manager Mark Geery said Van Epps leg was shattered and the retired military man will need multiple surgeries. “The person who did this was trying to kill him, and if anybody out there knows who this person is, please keep that in mind," Geery said. "This is a dangerous person." Investigators ran the plate and got a hit. Problem is it led them to the old owner of the car. He sold it late last year and the new owner hasn't registered it. Investigators believe the driver is in Albuquerque and was just visiting Taos. Read more

Commentary by Jim Spence - The Schott Solar disaster isn't an isolated incident of bad judgment. It is the tip of the bad investment iceberg. Just a half an hour of internet searching revealed an almost endless supply of news stories involving Representatives Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan as well as Senators Tom Udall and Jeff Bingaman touting companies such as bankrupt Advent Solar and Schott Solar. All four men believed these debacles were worthwhile places for taxpayer money to go to "create jobs.

Jeff Bingaman (right) at Green2V Logo Unveiling

Three years ago all four of the Democrats New Mexico voters sent to Washington suggested these failed companies (Schott and Advent Solar) were the way of the future for economic development in New Mexico.
In the end, in throwing millions of taxpayer dollars, tax credits, and federal subsidies at their the green job darlings, all four of the Democratic members of the New Mexico delegation were duped into blowing taxpayer funds on losers.
In referencing the Obama stimulus package passed back in 2009, Senator Udall's website actually gave credit Jeff Bingaman for ensuring a 30% tax credit for Schott and Advent was included in the massive stimulus bill financed with.....you guessed it.....debt.

In yet another embarassing green job fantasy debacle Jeff Bingaman was actually captured on camera after doing virtually zero due diligence when he voiced his support for a never to get off the ground Green2V. Green2V was a shell company allegedly based in Phoenix that also snared the ever-gullible and corruptible Bill Richardson in their attempted public funding scam. New Mexico voters will have to wait until 2014 to replace Udall. However, with Bingaman mercifully retiring, Lujan running to retain his seat, and Heinrich abandoning his house seat to run for the Senate, voters have the opportunity to see the NM delegation purged of three fools in one year.

Commentary by Jim Spence - Martin Heinrich is a man who probably means well. Unfortunately, he just can't seem to get it through his head why the state of New Mexico and U.S. taxpayers shouldn't touch projects like Solyndra and Schott Solar with a ten foot pole. Heinrich is dangerous to our future. He is so intent on pressing the radical environmentalist agenda and so naive about how the real world economy works, he is completely comfortable with throwing billions of taxpayer dollars at alternative energy projects that fail despite massive taxpayer subsidies. Fortunately, for voters, he has a record. And his record on job creation suggests New Mexicans have now been forewarned about his judgment.

Pictures and videos are worth a thousand words. The magnitude of Heinrich's economic ignorance can be demonstrated not by commentary or opinion, but by his own words. Below is a statement Heinrich issued on January 25, 2011. He commented on the portion of President Obama's State of the Union Address related to the government "investing" in jobs via alternative energy projects that the private sector already knew were losers. Here are his words:

Martin Heinrich (center) at Schott Solar

“Central New Mexico is a model for the kind of innovation and competitiveness the President spoke of tonight. I’ve seen first-hand the impact encouraging American innovation and entrepreneurship has on a local economy. I see it in success stories from companies like Schott Solar and SUMCO Phoenix in central New Mexico that are thriving in the expanding clean energy and high-tech manufacturing industries. The President was right when he said we need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world.

Martin Heinrich at Schott Solar

That's happening right now in central New Mexico. But we have a lot of work to do. Together, we need to rebuild the public's trust in government and continue the hard work of economic recovery. It will require practical policies and pragmatic compromise that can give our nation the vibrant economic growth and stronger middle class we have come to expect. My commitment remains stronger than ever to create quality jobs in central New Mexico, reduce our deficit, and work together to “win the future.”﻿﻿﻿﻿

In his own words poor Martin Heinrich demonstrated his complete lack of comprehension, on a very basic level, of how jobs are created and successful businesses function. This Senator want-to-be actually believes because millions of taxpayer dollars are thrown at something, it is a success. And exactly like President Obama extolling the virtues of now bankrupt Solyndra, as somehow being a model for our economic future, in his own words Heinrich mistakenly identified Schott Solar as a success story because government bet your tax dollars on it.

Time tends to produce irrefutable economic facts. Facts have stripped away any shred of truth behind Heinrich's absurd assertions. Despite subsidies from Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, and a $16 million unsecured taxpayer funded gift from former Governor Bill Richardson, like Solyndra, Schott Solar closed its doors, laid off 250 workers, and filed for bankruptcy protection from its creditors. New Mexico taxpayer dollars are gone as are all the other subsidies taxpayers lost on the bad bet. You can watch video of the hapless Martin Heinrich speaking about something he knows nothing about (job creation and basic economics) with Bill Richardson lurking in the background here.